This Rule Of Traffic He Absolutely
Refused, And Would Not Suffer His People To Buy Any Thing But Basins Of
Brass Or Latten; So That We Sold That Day 74 Brass Basins For About Half
An Angel Weight Each, And Nine White Basins For About A Quarter Of An
Angel Each.
We shewed them some of all our other wares, but they did not
care for any of them.
About two o'clock, P.M. the chief returned again,
and presented me a hen and two great roots, which I accepted, and he
then made me understand by signs, that many people would come from the
country that night to trade with me, who would bring great store of
gold. Accordingly about 4 o'clock there came about 100 men under 3
chiefs, all well equipped with darts and bows; and when they came to us,
every man stuck his dart into the ground in token of peace, all the
chiefs having their stools with them, sat down, after which they sent a
youth on board our boat who brought a measure of an ell, a quarter and a
sixteenth, making us understand that they would have four times that
measure in cloth for the weight in gold of an angel and 12 grains. I
offered him two ells for that weight, for which I had before demanded
two angels; but this he despised, and stuck to the four measures, being
5-1/4 ells. When it grew late and I motioned to go away, he came to four
ells for the above weight, and as he and I could not agree we went back
to the ships. This day we took for basins 6 ounces a half and an eighth
of gold.
In the morning of the 6th, we well manned our boats and the skiff, being
in some fear of the Portuguese, who had taken away a man from the ships
in the year before; and as the negroes had not canoes, we went near the
shore to them. The young man who had been with us the night before was
again sent to us, and he seemed to have had intercourse with the
Portuguese, as he could speak a little of that language, and was quite
expert in weights and measures. At his coming he offered us, as before,
an angel and 12 grains for four ells, giving us to understand, if we
would not deal on these terms, we might go away, which we did
accordingly; but before going away, I offered him three ells of rotten
cloth for his weight, which he would not accept. We then went on board
our ships, which lay a league off, after which we went back in the boats
for sand ballast. When the chiefs saw that our boats had now no
merchandise, but came only for water and sand, they at last agreed to
give the weight for three ells. Therefore, when the boats returned to
the ships, we put wares into both, and, for greater expedition, I and
John Saville went in one boat, while the master, John Makeworth, and
Richard Curligin, went in the other.
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